Resources by Indigenous Creators
Today, we are showing support for the First Nations, Mètis, and Inuit communities. We have compiled a selection of websites, movies, videos, books, podcasts, and more for our teams at Fresh to engage with as starting points in learning about Indigenous experiences. We hope that by sharing these resources, you may find this list useful too.
We are committed to continuously incorporating teachings on Indigenous ways of knowing and being, as well as the historical and ongoing effects of colonization. These resources can be referred to for ideas and suggestions on how to diversify your social media feeds and/or the media you intake.
With this, we encourage our guests and community members to learn more about Canada’s Indigenous history and to support Indigenous causes in any way you can.
To Support
Indigenous Arts Collective of Canada
Welcome to your Indigenous Arts Marketplace! The Indigenous Arts Collective of Canada was founded to preserve and revitalize endangered Indigenous art forms and enrich lives through Indigenous arts and culture.
To bolster First Nations, Inuit, and Métis businesses by encouraging consumers to invest in Indigenous goods and services, and supporting such businesses in the digital economy while honouring Truth & Reconciliation.
An Indigenous clothing company located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was formed in 2021 with one purpose: To offer companies, communities, artists, sports teams, and more, an opportunity to create custom t-shirts at any volume for any purpose.
An authentic Native clothing brand that embraces Indigenous culture. They do this by crafting designs that reflect their collective history, traditions, humor, and future. They also share their profits with Indigenous charities that protect and uplift Indigenous Communities.
Want to read more Indigenous literature but not sure where to start? Subscribe to Raven Reads and receive a curated package of First Nations books and giftwares seasonally, bi-annually, or annually. There’s even a separate box for kids, which is a great way to start having conversations around reconciliation and celebrating Indigenous culture at a young age.
Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS)
A provincial organization with a 20-year history of providing services to Indian Residential School Survivors.
Facilitates fundraising for groundbreaking challenges in partnership with Indigenous Nations. Canada’s only non-governmental organization working with Indigenous Nations to defend their rights with access to the courts by raising legal defence funds.
New Studio & Gallery for Native Arts Society
Native Arts Society & Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction’s Indigenous, 2spirit-led initiative is fundraising to cover the costs of creating a vibrant and flourishing Indigenous-led Arts Studio and Gallery. This space will provide a platform for Indigenous art that is rarely seen or uplifted, including Art from the street community, those who are incarcerated, and more modern forms of Inuit art.
Woodland Cultural Centre | Save the Evidence Campaign
A campaign to raise awareness and show support for the restoration of the former Mohawk Institute Residential School and to develop the building into an Interpreted Historic Site and Educational Resource. This site will be the definitive destination for information about the history of Residential Schools in Canada, the experience of Survivors, and the impact that the Residential School system had on Indigenous communities.
To Follow
To Learn
Search for “#firststory” in your Driftscape app to explore their stories. First Story Toronto has been engaged in researching and preserving the Indigenous history of Toronto with the goal of building awareness of and pride in the long Indigenous presence and contributions to the city.
This project documents and gives voice to the experiences of the many Métis children who attended Residential schools and explores Métis identity, cultural reclamation, and healing.
Legacy of Hope: Where are the children?
An app developed to promote understanding and awareness about residential schools and their ongoing intergenerational impacts. Listen to commentary and view content such as video, images, and text.
Native Land Digital creates spaces where non-Indigenous people can be invited and challenged to learn more about the lands they inhabit, the history of those lands, and how to actively be part of a better future going forward together.
A platform to increase knowledge and awareness of Indigenous territories, communities and Treaties and to help create dialogue around Indigenous territory recognition and acknowledgement.
To Listen
Matika Wilbur, who is Swinomish and Tulalip, and Adrienne Keene, from the Cherokee Nation, discuss what it means to be Indigenous from the POV of two American Indigenous feminists. They invite a roster of experts to join them on topics like native mascots, Indigenous food and feeding the spirit, and sexuality.
APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network): InFocus Podcast
InFocus advances the latest news stories. Join Host Melissa Ridgen as she puts issues into perspective and provides in-depth analysis. Informational and educational, InFocus provides a detailed examination of the issues affecting our communities.
A “nerd-culture” podcast that prides itself on its “IndigeNerdity.” The ATCG podcast covers everything from comics, STEM, cosplaying, art, entertainment and more. Hosts Johnnie Jae and Jackie Malstrom interview fellow IndigeNerds and discuss the intersections of Indigeneity and geek culture.
Actor Kaniehtiio Horn’s radical mother Kahentinetha Horn tells stories of her very long and adventurous activist life, always with the sense of humour that carried her through.
A roundtable podcast with host Rick Harp and a group of panelists who tackle affairs in so-called Canada. The podcast draws in people of all backgrounds, but appeals to those who enjoy a more academic look at things. They cover all topics, from decolonizing to dismantling, and also discuss history, context and academic ideas that you might have never heard about- all through a humorous lens.
What happens when two hilarious Métis women, who happen to be sci-fi nerds, drink wine and deconstruct the science fiction genre from a decolonial lense? Molly Swain & Chelsea Vowel break down tropes, themes & the hidden meanings behind the whitest genre of film & television we’ve ever known.
Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo
A Canadian true crime podcast. Taken by child welfare workers in the 1970’s and adopted in the U.S., the young Cree girl’s family believes she was raped and murdered while hitchhiking back home to Saskatchewan. CBC news investigative reporter Connie Walker joins the search to find out what really happened to Cleo.
Missing & Murdered: Who Killed Alberta Williams?
A Canadian true crime podcast. In 1989, 24-year-old Alberta Williams was found dead along the Highway of Tears near Prince Rupert, B.C. Police never caught her killer. Twenty-seven years later, her unsolved murder continues to haunt her family — and the retired cop who says he knows who did it.
Residential Schools | Historica Canada
A three-part podcast series created by Historica Canada and hosted by Shaneen Robinson-Desjarlais. It aims to commemorate the history and legacy of residential schools, and honour the stories of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Survivors, their families, and communities.
Canada is facing a crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG). TAKEN the Podcast investigates these tragic stories from across the country and links together clues that might one day bring these cases to justice.
Words connect us. Words hurt us. Indigenous histories have been twisted by centuries of colonization. Host Kaniehti:io Horn brings us together to decolonize our minds- one word, one concept, one story at a time.
The Secret Life of Canada Episodes
The Secret Life of Canada highlights the people, places and stories that probably didn’t make it into your high school textbook. Join hosts Leah and Falen as they explore the unauthorized history of a complicated country. Episodes of note: Kanesatake 300 Years Later Parts 1 & 2, Mohawk Ironworkers, You Should Know the Indian Film Crew, The Indian Act.
After contact, Indigenous foodways and knowledge were devastated, nearly destroyed and replaced with foods that are far from the people. So today, Andi Murphy is talking to Native chefs and foodies across the country about what Indigenous cuisine is, where it comes from, where it’s headed and how it’s used to connect them and their communities to their origins and traditions.
Unreserved is the radio space for Indigenous community, culture, and conversation. Host Falen Johnson takes you straight into Indigenous Canada introducing listeners to the storytellers, culture makers and community shakers from across the country.
Unsettled: Journeys in Truth and Conciliation
Building upon the 94 calls to action of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, from the perspectives of Indigenous cohost Jessica Vandenberghe, settler cohost George Lee, and their Indigenous and settler guests. We start from the belief that conciliation in Canada is an ongoing project, individually and collectively, as the country moves beyond colonial thinking to build a nation of nations.
To Watch
APTN lumi streaming brings you Indigenous-focused content to your device anywhere and anytime. Watch a variety of TV shows, documentaries, kids shows and so much more! Basic: FREE | Premium: $4.99/month
Indigenous Made Film Catalogue: Reel Canada
Selection of Indigenous-made films by filmmakers from diverse Nations across Canada reflecting diverse Indigenous experiences.
Playlists of online Indigenous content that have been presented at imagineNATIVE. imagineNATIVE is the world’s largest presenter of Indigenous screen content creating a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples and cultures through the presentation of contemporary Indigenous-made media art.
National Indigenous History Month Collection | CBC Gem
Collection that honours the history, heritage, and diversity of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Several documentaries made by Indigenous storytellers, telling stories of Indigenous peoples.
Indigenous Cinema | National Film Board
Discover the NFB’s rich online collection of Indigenous-made films.
The story of how the life of Jordan River Anderson initiated a battle for the right of First Nations and Inuit children to receive the same standard of social, health and educational services as the rest of the Canadian population. Sisters & Brothers
This documentary spotlights the struggle of minority communities in Nova Scotia as they fight officials over the lethal effects of industrial waste.
Wawahte: Stories of Residential School Survivors
Based on the book of the same title by Robert P. Wells. It tells the story of Indian Residential Schools from the perspective of three of its survivors. They trusted Bob to tell their very personal stories so that all Canadians might find mutual healing and understanding.
We Can’t Make the Same Mistake Twice
Indigenous People are reaching back into their history and harnessing their ancestral Knowledge as a way to decolonize the current narrative and build a stronger, brighter future for their descendants. It’s not about changing history; it’s about shifting the paradigm and building a better, more sustainable future for everyone. In this series, we will tell the Indigenous side of the story, journeying into Indigenous communities to find those at the forefront of this reclamation movement and hear their stories.
Four twenty-something Mohawk women are trying to find their place in the world. And, of course, trying to find love. But in a small world where you or your friends have dated everyone on the rez, or the hot new guy turns out to be your cousin, it ain’t that simple.
A comedy about two lifelong best friends who find themselves at a crossroads when their sleepy town gets an unexpected wakeup call. One is full steam ahead when it comes to preserving his family’s ancestry, while the other is working towards preserving another history, that of the fictional Minishonka Tribe, via her casino cultural centre.
A 13-part documentary series exploring Indigenous tattooing traditions around the world. Each episode dives into a unique Indigenous culture to discover the tools and techniques, the symbols and traditions that shape their tattooing art. In this series, the art of tattoo becomes a lens for exploring some of the planet’s oldest cultures and their unique perspectives on life, identity, and the natural world.
Based on the bestselling trilogy of novels by Eden Robinson, Trickster tells the story of Jared, an Indigenous teen struggling to keep his dysfunctional family above water. But when Jared starts seeing strange things his already chaotic life is turned upside down. It turns out there’s more than meets the eye to the place Jared grew up, the people he loves — and to Jared himself. This is Indigenous Gothic — spirits, ancient magic, deadly rites of passage — in a coming of age story unlike any you’ve ever seen.
To Read
Reading Lists
Toronto Public Library: Indigenous Reads
Read Indigenous is a yearly list of must-read titles written by Indigenous authors, writers, illustrators and knowledge keepers for all ages. The list is just a selection and there are many more you can read. So don’t stop here! The titles have been selected with Toronto Public Library’s Indigenous Advisory Council. 48 books by Indigenous writers to read to understand residential schools
An Indigenous owned and operated online Book and Gift store, and Publishing house, working hard to provide authentic books and gifts. As a publisher, all our resources that Strong Nations creates are Made in Canada.
21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Chief Bob Joseph
A slim but electrifying debut memoir about the preciousness and precariousness of queer Indigenous life. Belcourt cracks apart his history and shares it with us one fragment at a time. He shines a light on Canada’s legacy of colonial violence and the joy that flourishes in spite of it.
A Knock on the Door by Phil Fontaine, Aimée Craft
An urgent and visceral work that asks essential questions about the treatment of Native people in North America while drawing on intimate details of life and experience with intergenerational trauma. Elliott engages with such wide-ranging topics as race, parenthood, love, mental illness, poverty, sexual assault, gentrifcation, writing and representation, and in the process makes connections both large and small between the past and present, the personal and politica
Call Me Indian by Fred Sasakamoose
Gwen Benaway’s fourth collection of work explores the everyday poetics of the trans feminine body. Through intimate experiences and conceptualizations of trans life, day/break asks what it means to be a trans woman, both within the text and out in the physical world.
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention. With compassion and insight, Five Little Indians chronicles the desperate quest of these residential school survivors to come to terms with their past and, ultimately, find a way forward.
Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis & Inuit Issues in Canada Chelsea Vowel
In 31 essays, Chelsea explores the Indigenous experience from the time of contact to the present, through five categories — Terminology of Relationships; Culture and Identity; Myth-Busting; State Violence; and Land, Learning, Law, and Treaties. She answers the questions that many people have on these topics to spark further conversations at home, in the classroom, and in the larger community. Indigenous Toronto Stories that Carry This Place Show Details Edited by Denise Bolduc, Mnawaate Gordon-Corbiere, Rebeka Tabobondung, and Brian Wright-McLeod
Over the span of eleven years, seven Indigenous high school students died in Thunder Bay, Ontario. They were hundreds of kilometres away from their families, forced to leave home because there was no adequate high school on their reserves. Five were found dead in the rivers surrounding Lake Superior, below a sacred Indigenous site. Using a sweeping narrative focusing on the lives of the students, award-winning author Tanya Talaga delves into the history of this northern city that has come to manifest Canada’s long struggle with human rights violations against Indigenous communities.
The Power of Style: How Fashion & Beauty Are Being Used to Reclaim Culture by Christian Allaire
As a fashion-obsessed Ojibwe teen, Christian Allaire rarely saw anyone that looked like him in the magazines or movies he sought out for inspiration. Now the Fashion and Style Writer for Vogue, he is working to change that-because clothes are never just clothes.
They Called Me Number One by Bev Sellers
Like thousands of Aboriginal children in Canada, and elsewhere in the colonized world, Xatsu’ll chief Bev Sellars spent part of her childhood as a student in a church-run residential school. In this frank and poignant memoir of her years at St. Joseph’s Mission, Sellars breaks her silence about the residential school’s lasting effects on her and her family-from substance abuse to suicide attempts-and eloquently articulates her own path to healing.
THIS PLACE 150 Years Retold by various authors and illustrators
Explore the past 150 years through the eyes of Indigenous creators in this groundbreaking graphic novel anthology. Beautifully illustrated, these stories are an emotional and enlightening journey through Indigenous wonderworks, psychic battles, and time travel. See how Indigenous peoples have survived a post-apocalyptic world since Contact.
Learning about Truth and Reconciliation
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Frequently Asked Questions
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) mandate is to inform all Canadians about what happened in Indian Residential Schools (IRS). The Commission documented the truth of survivors, families, communities and anyone affected by the IRS experience.
- Summary: Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: The Final Report discusses what the Commission did and how it went about its work, as well as what it heard, read, and concluded about the schools and afterwards, based on all the evidence available to it.
- In order to redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Audio Version | What We Have Learned: Principles of Truth and Reconciliation
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada believes that in order for Canada to flourish in the twenty-first century, reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canada must be based on 10 principles.
VIDEOS: #ReadTheTRCReport Youtube Playlist
Video project started by Erica Violet Lee, a Nēhiyaw woman in Saskatoon, Zoe Todd, a Métis writer in Edmonton, and Joseph Paul Murdoch-Flowers, an Inuk man in Iqaluit. Featuring videos of people reading sections of the TRC report.
CBC News, Beyond 94: Truth and Reconciliation in Canada
Highly interactive and informative. Beyond 94 monitors and measures the progress of governments, communities and faith groups towards reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. The public is encouraged to follow along as witnesses to this journey.
Spirit Bear’s Guide to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action
This youth-friendly (ages 4 and up) booklet is a guide to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) 94 Calls to Action, published by First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada.
Learning about Residential Schools
Residential Schools in Canada Map from the TRC
This map, prepared by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, indicates the location of residential schools identified by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Canada’s Residential Schools — Canadian Geographic x Google Earth
Written by the Union of Ontario Indians based on research compiled by Karen Restoule, this booklet will provide general information on the purpose, establishment and history of the Indian Residential School system in Canada. Video: The 5th Estate | Crimes against children at residential school: The truth about St. Anne’s
St. Anne’s Indian Residential School in Northern Ontario was a place of horrific abuse and crimes against children that took place over decades. For years, records detailing the abuse were kept hidden- CBC News obtained thousands of those very documents which expose the fuller picture of the abuse than was previously acknowledged.
Videos: Legacy of Hope Foundation | Residential School Survivor Stories
A selection of Survivor stories Survivors share their personal and often painful accounts of their experiences of residential school and its legacy. It is by sharing these truths that we can all continue to work toward understanding and healing.
National Inquiry into Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls (MMIWG) 2018 Final Report
This report reveals that persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root cause behind Canada’s staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people.
2SLGBTQQIA+ Sub-Working Group National Action Plan Final Report
The 2SLGBTQQIA+ SubWorking Group recognizes that Indigenous cultures accept and include diverse concepts of gender and sexuality.
Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC)
Representing the political voice of Indigenous women, girls and gender diverse people in Canada, inclusive of First Nations on and off reserve, status and non-status, disenfranchised, Métis and Inuit.
The Ongoing Legacy of Residential Schools
Sixties Scoop mid 1950s-1985
Results from the 2011 National Household Survey also show that 38% of Indigenous children in Canada live in poverty, compared to 7% for non-Indigenous children.
Free e-learning Courses
University of Toronto Indigenous Education: We Are All Treaty People
This module describes treaties and how they benefit Indigenous populations and Canadians/settlers, diasporic populations and newcomers. Learners will be able to detail their own rights and responsibilities as a treaty person and understand the conditions upon which they have agreed to share the land with the Nations who were here first.
University of Alberta: Indigenous Canada
Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson online course from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada. From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores key issues facing Indigenous peoples today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler Relations.
Indigenous Canada Recorded Discussions and Conversations:
University of Alberta’s Playlist
Free e-Books from Bob Joseph
Dispelling Common Myths about Indigenous People
This eBook takes a look at some of the common myths and then provides a snapshot of the reality for Indigenous Peoples. It’s just a snapshot as the background to these myths is long and complex.
Indigenous Peoples: A Guide to Terminology
When it comes to these terms what’s the best terminology? The answer is “it depends.” It really depends on which hat people are wearing.
23 Tips on What NOT to Say or Do when Working with Indigenous Peoples
Handy practical tips to incorporate into that next meeting with Indigenous Peoples.
27 Tips on What to Say and Do When Working With Indigenous Peoples
More handy practical tips to incorporate into that next meeting Indigenous Peoples.
Originally published at https://freshplantpowered.com on July 1, 2021.
